LAWYER says man charged with attempting to murder university pal by spiking drink with anti-freeze ingredient has severe mental illness.

A STUDENT is fighting extradition to Scotland for allegedly trying to murder a friend by poisoning his wine with an ingredient used in anti-freeze.

Alexander Hilton is accused of spiking a fellow student's red wine with methanol at St Andrews University in Fife in 2011.

The student, 19 at the time, suffered severe nausea and headaches for days and started to lose his vision before going to the hospital, where he spent a week. He would have died if he had not sought medical help.

Hilton, 21, returned to his home in Princeton, Massachusetts, in March 2011, less than two weeks after the alleged poisoning before the annual St Andrews ball.

He was arrested last week under an extradition treaty the US has with the UK.

On Thursday in federal court in Boston, Hilton asked to be released on bail pending an extradition hearing, scheduled for March 7.

Assistant US Attorney David D’Addio told the court: “It’s an attempted murder case, a serious case, and we can’t lose sight of that.­ The evidence before us is Mr. Hilton deliberately poisoned a student at St Andrew­s."

A US magistrate judge is considering Hilton's bail request.

Hilton was studying economics and computing at St Andrews at the time of the alleged offence.

Defence lawyer Norman Zalkind asked US Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal to release Hilton on bail pending the extradition hearing, saying he has a severe mental illness that he has suffered since childhood and which has worsened since his ­arrest.

He has been placed on suicide watch at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Centre in ­Central Falls in Rhode Island.